Good morning. If you would, please be turning
to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5, verses
25 through 30. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men
to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this call shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let
every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself,
and the wife see that she reverence her husband. I know for some people this passage
may not be something that they necessarily want to hear or like
to hear. Part of me, part of my flesh understands this. But this scripture is not about
us. If we really think about it,
none of the scripture is about us. It may be for us, it may
be to us, but it is about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This passage itself talks about
real love, sanctification, cleansing by the word, glorification. Our passage and some of the surrounding
verses speak of these things, and also it talks about sacrifice,
and that is both doing without and giving everything. And it
also talks about Christ and his church. This scripture is for
us, is to give us instruction of how we are to conduct ourselves
toward one another. It is to our edification. It
could be meant specifically for rebuke. As the old saying goes,
if the shoe fits, wear it. But the glory of this passage,
if we can mortify our members so that we do not cloud our mind
on whether I or someone else does the right thing or not,
and I can tell you right now, none of us do the right thing
all the time. But if we can enter into what this really tells us,
it may help us in our walk to understand just what Jesus Christ
did for us. I start with husbands in my reading
of this text. This text says more to us about
the husbands than it does the wife in this passage. The husband
is the one responsible. I would say that more of the
weight or burden is placed on the man to love his wife. I know
this passage mainly mentions husbands and wives. It certainly
does apply to them. But this is for anyone that is
in Jesus Christ because it says in verse 21, submitting yourselves
one to another in the fear of God. Paul begins with speaking
to all those saints who are at Ephesus in this book. But I do want to mention this.
There is a difference between unmarried believers and married
believers. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7, I say therefore to the unmarried
and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. Paul says it is good if the unmarried
can stay unmarried. There is a reason he says this
and he explains it later. He says a believing man that
is not married careth for the things of the Lord and how he
may please the Lord. A married man careth for the
things of the world, how he may please his wife. This is also
true with the wife. He speaks about both. He says,
if you cannot contain, then get married. But for those who are
believers, do not look to be yoked, or that is, joined together
with an unbeliever. Just getting married is not the
right answer. Paul also speaks about this.
But God tells us, seek ye first the kingdom of God. All these
things will be added to you. You need to set your mind on
God and his kingdom. He will give you what you need.
In fact, he will give you far beyond what you even think or
ask. We do not seek the kingdom of
God to have these things added to us. We just seek the kingdom
of God. God will do the adding that he
sees fit. The adding may come in a different
manner than what you expect. We don't deserve anything, but
God is very gracious and giving to his people. What are we to
say when we have done that which is our duty to do? We are but
unprofitable servants. So let's start in verse 25. Verse
25 says, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church and gave himself for it. Do we men even see what this
is saying? I started at this verse for a
reason. I know there are some men out there that when they
think of this verse, that is if they think about it at all,
they think all Christ did was die for us. So this is just telling
us we should be willing to die for our wives? That is certainly
a part of this, but that is not all this says. That is not all
that Christ did for his church. This says even as Christ also
loved the church and gave himself for it. This word here, gave,
does not mean outright to sacrifice or give his life, that is, die
for us. The word here means to surrender, entrust, betray, commit,
put in prison. Jesus Christ betrayed his own
wants and submitted himself to the will of the Father. He did
not come to do his own will, but the will of the Father that
sent him. He said that himself. He gave
up glory to come down to where we are. His main concern was
what he came to do and for his church. which he was going to
do what was needed so that he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle. What does this tell
me as a husband? I should be concerned with the
well-being of my wife, not necessarily to give her everything she wants,
but not absent of giving her some things she wants. Jesus
Christ, in fact, gives us, his people, that is his church, everything
that he has, which is all. But we have this explained even
further in our passage to let us know what that looks like
to us. We are to love our own wives
as we love our own bodies. What happens, men, when you get
tired? You rest, you get some sleep,
or sit down. What happens, men, when you get
hungry? You get something to eat. What happens, men, when
you get sick? You again get rest if that will
help you or you take some medicine if it requires that. What is
this telling us? It is telling us that we are
to be mindful of our wife and her needs and wants, not thinking
about ourselves and our wants. Make sure she is taken care of.
I'm not saying the man has to be the one that cooks the meals
and does this or that. It's not what I'm talking about.
I'm saying we ought to be looking out for our wives to see how
they are doing. It is not about you, it's about
your wife. What does Paul go on to tell
us? No man hateth his own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth
it. What does this mean? To nourish
means to train up. To cherish means to brood, that
is, think about what makes you unhappy. So how are you How are
you trained up or do those things which make you happy? You should
be listening to your wife and do those things which make her
happy. I'm going to say it just because I want to be clear, but
I'm not saying to do just anything. We are talking about believers
here. We are talking about things that honor our Lord. We're not
talking about just doing anything whether it goes against our Lord
or not. Whether it is the husband or the wife, or kids, or servants,
or masters, or any believer, we should always do it as unto
the Lord. If you see what Paul says in
chapter five, five and six, he says the following in several
places. In five, in verse 21, he says, in the fear of God.
22, he says, as unto the Lord. 25, he says, as Christ also loved
the church. Six, one, he says, in the Lord.
6.4, he says, nurture and admonition of the Lord. 6.5, it says, as
unto Christ. And 6.7, he says, as to the Lord. How we behave towards others
should be as unto the Lord Jesus Christ in the fear of God. That tells me I need to listen
to my wife. What I mean by that is I need
to pay attention to her to make sure she is taken care of by
what power God enables me to do this. After all, this is not
about us. It is about Jesus Christ and
his church. I know for me, I'm not sure I can say I do this
at all, let alone enough, but I'm afraid I am more concerned
with myself most of the time rather than my wife. I at least
feel that way. Does not our Lord do this to
us? He made himself of no reputation. I cannot say he did not do what
he wanted to do. He was the Lord of glory, but
he was not in it to let everyone see him or to satisfy himself,
but the will of the Father when he was on this earth. Mean if you're going around all
the time just doing everything that makes you feel good while
your wife is left to handle everything, you are not loving her as you
love your own body. What else does Paul go on to
say? We are members of his church, that is Christ's body. We are
one with Christ. For this cause a man will leave
his father and mother and shall be joined, that means glued,
to his wife. That is what the word means,
to glue. Then it says, and they too, that is T-W-O, shall be
one, that is O-N-E, flesh. If you are only concerned with
what you want and consider your wife just sometimes, you are
not loving her as your own body. Paul now tells us this is a great
mystery, but he is speaking of Christ and the church. How do
you view your wife? Is it like Christ and his church?
How do you view your husband? Is it like Christ and his church?
How do you view other believers? Is it like Christ and his church?
It says in our chapters, wives, submit yourself to your own husbands. This means to be in subordination,
that is, to obey them. It says, as unto the Lord. What else does it say? For the
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the
church. This is what it says, and it's
what it means. Here's what I'm trying to get
at. If we all do these things as unto the Lord, even as it
is with Christ and his church, we will get along better. We
will enjoy being around one another better. Others will enjoy being
around you more, especially God's people, but others as well. If
we are all looking to the needs of others, giving others respect
and honor, things will be better. But there is the main reason.
It is because Jesus Christ deserves this, and we are told to do this
as unto the Lord. We read further, and Paul goes
on to speak about children obeying their parents. Fathers not provoking
their children to wrath. Servants being obedient to their
masters. This is workers being obedient
to their bosses. Masters doing the same thing,
it says, without respect to persons. As I said before, it also says
submitting yourselves one to another. But almost in every
one of these places where it is talking about these people,
what does it say? As unto the Lord. The way I do
things may not look exactly like how you do things. My wife's
wants and needs may be different than your wife's wants and needs,
as your wife's might be different from my wife's. I'm not trying
to make my marriage look like someone else's marriage. I'm
looking to Christ and his church, and specifically what Christ
did for the church. I endeavor to do this looking
at what he did for me. This is in my marriage or my
relationship with my boss or other believers. How you behave to your family,
and I mean the family of God. Is that the way Christ behaved
to his church? This is what this is saying. I know when I read some of these
passages, I try to excuse myself and say, I know that it is this
way. I'm supposed to do these things,
but I just cannot do it. When I say that, I'm just making
excuses. If you cannot do it, then ask
God to help you. He will help you. The problem
with most of us all or some of the time is that we don't want
to do what God says to do. I know he will help us because
he says he will. I cannot tell you what it should
look like. I can at times tell you what it does not look like.
Circumstances for everyone are different, so those may dictate
a little bit how things are done. But if I say I love my wife and
I never spend any time with her, any money on her, listen to her,
it will be evident that I do not love her. I know some may
think this way. Well, I spend money on her every
once in a while, but never really spend any time with her. This
is not how Christ loved his church. This is with any of God's people.
If you do not want to spend time with the family of God, then
something is wrong. So now let's go back and visit
some of those things that this passage teaches us or tells us
about. Real love, sanctification, cleansing
by the word, glorification, sacrifice, that is both doing without and
giving everything, and then Christ and his church. Real love, if
you would turn with me to Romans 5, Romans 5. Romans 5 verses 5 through 8. And hope maketh not ashamed,
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, which is given unto us. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely
for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good
man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. This is real love. We not only
were not thinking of Christ, we did not even know him. He
did this before we were even born here. But once we were born,
we spit in his face all the while he loved us. Because if you are
his, this tells us it is so. Thank God I am enabled to believe
it. Jesus Christ not only says he
loves us, he proved he loved us by coming into this world.
This omnipotent God came down, lived on this earth, made himself
of no reputation, and died for me. This is true love. Next, we have sanctification.
In 1 Peter 1 and verse 2, it says, elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. God could have died for us and
left us in misery, doing for ourselves, not knowing what he
had done for us. But this tells me that those
for who God chose, God comes in his spirit giving us life
and giving us word of what he has done. Oh, the depths of mercy
to me. He has thought about me to let
me know what he has done, even though I came into this world
hating him and fighting against him. Next, we have cleansing
by the word. We get cleansed all the time
with God's word. Thank God he sends someone to
us with the gospel. Every time we hear, it cleanses
us, giving us peace with him. With the ultimate picture of
his love, we read passages or hear passages such as this, which
gives us rest in Christ. And that is 2 Corinthians 5 and
verse 21. For he, that is God, hath made him, that is Christ,
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. Next, we have glorification.
At work, we've had this diversity training. And I could have saved
the company a lot of money if they would have just talked to
me first. Had they asked me, I could have
told them there's no diversity among men. All men as we are
born have come short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23 says, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Here is
our diversity. This is what is wrong with all
of us by nature. If you would turn with me to
Isaiah 1, Isaiah 1. I'll get there in a minute. Isaiah 1 verses 4 through 6. A sinful nation, a people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors.
They have forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One
of Israel unto anger. They are gone away backward.
Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and
more. The whole head is sick, and the
whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds, and bruises,
and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound
up, neither mullified with ointment. That is our diversity. But God
has been pleased to choose some whom he would glorify. Romans 9.23 says, and that he
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. Then it says in 1 Corinthians
15 verses 42 and 43, it says, so also is the resurrection of
the dead. It is sown in corruption, it
is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is
raised in power. And then again in Romans 8 verses
29 and 30 we read, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. That means he's already done
it. Again, we read in John 17 verses
22. And the glory which thou gavest
me, I have given them. that they may be one even as
we are." What God purposed to do in His
Son, He did. Christ has given us His glory,
that is the glory of Him and His cross work. He has given
this to us in time. Again, we are not left to handle
things on our own, but He has been gracious to us to comfort
us knowing He has finished all the work. Next, we have sacrifice,
that is both doing without and giving everything. I've already
mentioned this, but I think it is okay to mention it again.
When Christ come down, he left everything. He is the omnipotent
king who came down to this earth and did not live as a king. He
gave up everything, meaning he sacrificed everything. And then
he sacrificed everything by dying on that tree, being made sin
for me. Next, we have Christ and his
church. This is what our text says. This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Throughout all
of scripture, we read that God was pleased to give to himself
honor and glory. He did and does this through
Jesus Christ the Lord. But Jesus Christ has a bride,
the church, his church. His church which he has made
himself one with. He left the father to come down
to be with his bride, the church. In all things that we have just
looked at was all done for the church. that he, that is Christ,
might present his church, in verse 27 of Ephesians 5 it says,
that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish. I don't know about you, but when
I read this passage in this light, and forget about me, Knowing
it is all about him, it is far more glorious and edifying. Oh,
wives, if we could just look to Christ when it comes to reverencing
our husbands. Oh, husbands, if we could just
look to Christ when it comes to loving our wives. Oh, children,
if you could just look to Christ when it comes to obeying your
parents. Oh, servants, if you could just look to Christ when
it comes to serving your masters. Oh, masters, if you could just
look to Christ when it comes to treatment of your servants.
Oh, believers, if you could just look to Christ when it comes
to how do you behave and treat other believers. I think we would
find that it is a whole lot easier for us to do than if we don't. But nevertheless, we are exhorted,
we are rebuked to do these things and do them as unto the Lord,
amen. Dear Lord God, thank you for
allowing us to be here. May you keep our eyes set and
fixed upon Christ, dear Lord. There's nothing we can do of
our own power. We will not do anything that you've commanded
us to do without your power in causing us to do it. Continue to fix our eyes on Christ.
Open our hearts, minds, ears, eyes, that we may hear the words
being spoken. That we may believe you and rest
in Christ. All these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.